Caleb, Prince of Judah and Fearless Warrior
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Transcript
OVERVIEW Intro
OVERVIEW Intro
Key Take Away
We need to be bold and courageous in Christ. We cannot backdown or fold under peer-pressure.
Opening Illustration
Fill
Opening Verse (NT) Be bold and courageous
13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Moses speaking to Israel tells the people each tribe is to send out a man to “spy out the land.” (Numbers 13:2) and then tells them that the man each tribe is to send is to be “a chief among them” (Num 13:2)[3]
Essentially, the prince of each tribe. The representative of the people is to be one with great influence.
Another key to this passage is that the land the spies are to scout is a land that is promised to be given to the people of Israel. God has decreed it belongs to them. So, each tribes leader is sent from the midst of the people to spy out the Land.
There are two amongst the twelve tribes, there are two men we must pay special attention to, Caleb, the leader from the tribe of Judah, and Hoshea, the leader from the tribe of Ephraim.
* Hoshea is also called Joshua which he is better known as in the Bible. *
They spend forty-days in the land of Canaan. Listen to the reports of the spies.
25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land.
26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
28 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.
29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”
They were terrified of the people that they found in the promised land. The spies essentially say,
“That land is great see all the fruit of the land?! But let me tell you it’s a death wish to go in there. We have been duped!”
Frustration fills their hearts, and they are completely at a loss.
So why were they discouraged?
These land was full of people who were giants compared to them. Many of the cities were large well defended structures.
“For example, the city of Hazor consisted of an upper city of 26 acres and a lower city of 160 acres. Estimates put the population at 40,000. Its defense walls were massively built of stone and mud brick; some of the walls measured as wide as 24 feet (7.3 m).”[5]
Could you blame them for being intimidated?
Let’s talk some sports for a moment, if your middle/high school football team was asked to take on the University of Georgia in a game. How would you feel? Ask Sanders MS, HS ask Spencer/Brett/Corban/Cole etc.
You know that it wouldn’t be fair, likely people would get hurt and possibly seriously.
We are talking about a people who were slaves being challenged to take on people who were known as fighting nations. Fear controlled them and that was what filled the report. Commotion began to stir
But Caleb shows up,
30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”
31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.”
Caleb stood on the promise of victory from God, even while others doubted.
Thesis: Even in the face of opposition, we must stand firm on the promises of God.
Believers should be bold for the Lord.
Believers should be bold for the Lord.
He quiets the Crowd
The people were in an uproar, but Caleb calms the people down. Imagine having a professional stadium full of people screaming and murmuring amongst themselves and you know you need to silence them. It would seem near impossible right? Caleb manages to do just that; he quieted the crowd.
He encourages them to obey the Lord, immediately
He says, “Let us go up at once and occupy it” (Num 13:30). God had called them out of Egypt to travel to the promised land and God has repeatedly promised them that they would occupy the Land. Caleb recognized that truth and knew, no matter what, God would see them through it.
Talk about faith!
He knew God would see them through no matter how high the challenge or what unbeatable odds laid before them. They just had to remain faithful to the Lord.
Yet, the spies and people refused to listen.
They immediately reject Caleb’s call to obedience.
31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.”
Caleb stuck his neck out and called the people to obey God and to go against what conventional wisdom was tell them to do, which was run away.
The people give into the pressure of fear.
1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night.
2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
They attempt to have a mutiny of sorts, but four men are mentioned that remain faithful to keep their eyes on the Lord, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb.
Here’s their plea to the people:
7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land.
8 If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.
9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”
These four leaders were faced with a life and death situation. The people were fearful and were rejecting God. Yet, they knew they must stand firm on truth! So, they begged them not to rebel against the Lord and not to fear the people of the land for God had already given victory.
Our boldness comes from Christ victory in our lives.
Our boldness comes from Christ victory in our lives.
God ultimately punished the rebellious people to wander in the desert for 40 years. God also promised no one that witnessed the works he did in Egypt and still rebelled would enter the promised land.
Then a beautiful statement is found during the explanation of the consequences of the rebellious Israelites actions,
24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.
God promises that Caleb’s faithfulness will be rewarded.
Just like God promised the promised land to the Caleb and the future generation, God has promised us victory over sin through Jesus Christ. Caleb was a soldier for the Lord and the Lord blessed his faithfulness. God also blesses us when we remain faithful in the face of temptation and peer pressure.
Conclusion
Recap
Caleb could have fallen in line with those who were fearful. It was the easy road, yet Caleb didn’t do that. Instead, Caleb stuck to the Word and promise of God. He trusted the Lord to follow through with his promise to give them the Land of Canaan, no matter how difficult the road might be up ahead.
Faithfully following the Lord is a tough road, every day you are all going to face all kinds of temptation. The only way to resist the temptation to give into the peer-pressure is to know Christ and to trust him fully.
It’s easy to go with the flow. To travel the road of least resistance. However, that road is full of consequences. Those consequences make us miss out on blessings the Lord has planned for us.
Invitation of Response/Challenge
Are you like Caleb? Someone who knows the Lord personally and trusts the Lord fully?
Or are you more like the other spies who gave a fear-filled report?
They didn’t walk with God; they didn’t trust God to see them through to victory.
Christ has promised victory over sin, shame and death for all who will trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. We are all broken and in need of a savior. Will you trust in Christ alone for salvation? Will you pray and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to be your Lord and Savior?
Others tonight
Maybe you find yourself giving into peer pressure or you remain silent about your faith because you are afraid to be bold for Christ. I want to challenge you to ask God to the boldness to live for Christ every day.
Prayer for Dismissal